Nan Austin
The Modesto Bee
Modesto, CA, United States
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Past articles by Nan:
Moving on after three decades in journalism
I have been known to reflexively shake hands at parties saying: “Nan Austin, The Bee.” → Read More
Turlock High kids cheer life-changing teacher to $20,000 award
Drama and speech teacher Michele Van Nieuwenhuyzen has been named a 2017 Carlston Family Foundation Outstanding Teacher of America. → Read More
Modesto's Prescott Junior High PE program in documentary
North Modesto tweens get an old-style boot camp, complete with annual mud run, promoted by the late President John F. Kennedy. In a documentary coming out in August, filmmaker Doug Orchard puts forward a case that mental acuity and physical fitness go hand in hand, and Prescott is the only school in the nation that still gets that. → Read More
Class of '17 marching at Stanislaus high schools, university
If the endless march of “Pomp and Circumstance” keeps running through your head this week, chances are it is not just nostalgia. Graduates from most area high schools and California State University, Stanislaus will walk this week. → Read More
Turlock school bond bargain could save $21M over 30 years
Turlock Unified says its initial bond sale went better than expected, adding an estimated $1 million to the building budget and chopping a projected $20.8 million off the taxpayers’ bill compared to initial estimates. → Read More
Phish bait: As kids get laptops, how do schools keep them safe in cyberspace?
As virtual attacks go wild, let’s talk about security and reliability for the most vulnerable folks carting laptops: students. → Read More
Billboard brings up teen drinking hoping to hit the brakes
An ad on Maze Boulevard in west Modesto, created by teens, was timed to prom and graduation days to make kids think twice before drinking or riding with a drunken driver. → Read More
Police in standoff with man inside central Modesto home
A SWAT team is at a central Modesto, California, home of a man who is holed up inside threatening violence, authorities said. → Read More
Stanislaus Military Academy teacher takes California title
The construction trades teacher at the Stanislaus Military Academy took a bow Thursday as 2017 California alternative education Teacher of the Year. → Read More
South Modesto gets school board seat this November
On Thursday, the Modesto City Schools board unanimously reversed its decision on election timing for newly created trustee areas, giving the heavily Latino area its own seat in the next election. → Read More
Yosemite Community College District taps Silicon Valley campus president for chancellor
The Yosemite Community College District Board chose Henry Chiong Vui Yong, 63, as its next chancellor Wednesday with a unanimous vote. → Read More
Maker Hoopla lets families revel in their inner (and outer) child
A free, family Maker Hoopla – hands-on inventing and making – will be put on by the Stanislaus County Office of Education on May 20 for kids in kindergarten through sixth grade at the Petersen Event Center. → Read More
Stanislaus County Office of Education awards tech training badges
The week of the teacher seems like a good time to applaud self starters updating their skills through a Stanislaus County Office of Education program that rewards success. Hint: Think Scouting. → Read More
How does Ripon garden grow? With care, amazement, patience – all in a row
The Oak Valley Youth Garden in Ripon, CA, raises produce to feed the needy as around 60 kids learn plant life cycles, where food comes from, and how it feels to help others. → Read More
Modesto school models seven habits of highly effective children
At Mary Ann Sanders Elementary in north Modesto, good habits start young, wrapped into lessons, performances and leadership teams that include all grades. → Read More
Modesto school board will revisit delay of Latino area election
Facing community backlash and a legal threat, the Modesto City Schools Board will revisit the election timing of its newly created trustee areas, which as it stands would leave solidly Latino south Modesto without representation until 2019. → Read More
Ceres High digs into U.S. history with "Hamilton" grant
Ceres High U.S. government classes got an eye-popping, hip-hopping look into the lives of the founding fathers through a grant connected to the hit Broadway musical. → Read More
Modesto City Schools keeps integrated math in close vote
The Modesto City Schools Board came within one vote of moving to scrap their Common Core integrated math program three years after a quick flip to full implementation. → Read More
Woman walking by Santa Fe tracks struck in Empire, suffers life-threatening injuries
A woman walking along the Santa Fe Railroad tracks in Empire was struck by an Amtrak train Monday afternoon, sustaining life-threatening injuries, officials said. → Read More
Stanislaus County, state officials disagree over data determining when school board elections are held
A new state law requires odd-year elected boards to shift to even years if voter participation is significantly higher, but in Stanislaus County the elections office has provided figures that would let many odd-year elections stay put. → Read More